With state budget cuts, fate of marijuana eradication task force is unclear

Task force sees state funds reduced to almost half

State budget cuts pose an uncertain future for a special task force dedicated to eradicating marijuana in forests, including the Los Padres National Forest.

Funding for the state Department of Justice's Division of Law Enforcement has been reduced by $36.8 million in the 2011-2012 fiscal year and $71 million the following year. Officials say one casualty could be the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, which includes the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.

CAMP also gets federal funds, but it is unclear whether it can survive without the state money.

Sgt. Mike Horne of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department narcotics bureau said he's not sure whether efforts to rid Los Padres of marijuana cultivation would be as effective without state funds.

"If we lost them, it would cost us a lot of money," Horne said.

Last fiscal year, CAMP received $1 million from the state, $1.65 million from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and $124,000 from the U.S. Forest Service, according to the state Attorney General's Office.

The funding translates into manpower, supplies, helicopters and fuel.

"That's money we don't have to pay," Horne said.

The number of marijuana plants seized in the Ventura County portion of Los Padres has increased 10 percent since 2007, largely because of a rise in cultivation sparked by international drug cartels, according to the narcotics bureau.

Horne's unit, along with other task force partners, found a record 147,000 marijuana plants in the Ventura County area of Los Padres last year, and so far this year they have found 134,000.

"We will surpass that without a doubt," Horne said, but it will be difficult to continue breaking records without state funds.

"These cases take a long time. We spend a lot of time out there. We can't do it in a 10-hour day," Horne said. "We're very passionate about what we do, and as a team, we've built a pretty solid reputation across the state, only because of that funding."

In July, Ventura County authorities destroyed a record amount of marijuana found growing in Los Padres north of Ojai. They found 68,488 plants with an estimated street value of more than $205 million, along with fertilizers, pesticides, water diversions and a large amount of trash, authorities said

"This is not just about marijuana and whether or not it's good for you or bad for you," Horne said. "The issue is about the destruction and poisoning of our national forests."

Lynda Gledhill, spokeswoman for California Attorney General Kamala Harris, said Harris is concerned about the cuts and has been working to alleviate their effects.

"At this point, we don't know what's going to happen" with CAMP," Gledhill said. "CAMP gets funding from a lot of different agencies, and we don't know exactly how it will play out."

Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy, said he also can't predict the fate of CAMP, but its efforts are essential in combating marijuana cultivation in local forests.

"It is our responsibility to protect public lands from criminal organizations seeking to use the land for profit," he said.